


You've Got This Spell On Me

by sunshinexbomb



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, M/M, Veela!NIall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-12
Updated: 2012-12-06
Packaged: 2017-11-18 13:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/561465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinexbomb/pseuds/sunshinexbomb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For once, Niall is the one caught speechless because Harry's sort of gorgeous. [Hogwarts AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Falling In Love From The Very Start

**Author's Note:**

> My cousins and I spent the summer talking about the possibility of a veela!Niall fic and I went ahead and made it a reality. There's gonna be four parts I think, one for every other year of Hogwarts. Lots of OT5 Friendshipy feelings because I'm a sucker for OT5.

It's totally not Niall's fault that he's running late on his first day of Hogwarts. He was all ready to go the night before, his trunk packed, his owl tucked safely in her cage, and his robes freshly laundered and laid out for the next morning. 

It's definitely all Greg's fault. Greg was the one who misplaced his Transfiguration books and couldn't find his scarlet Quidditch robes in the mess he calls a room. Greg's the reason that he's rushing through the barrier separating the muggle world from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and hurriedly kissing his mother on the cheek as she gushes about how her baby is all grown up and going off to Hogwarts. 

There are people staring at them, but that's okay because there are always people staring at them. Niall's gotten used to the way people's eyes widen and their jaws slacken when they catch glimpse of him and his mother’s fair hair and entrancingly bright blue eyes. Greg's always teasing him because who's ever heard of a male veela, but then their mother reminds him that Niall will be the one attracting all the girls (or guys, she's not one to judge) and Greg shuts up right quick. 

By the time Niall gets on the train, almost all the compartments are full. He passes by hundreds of kids, boys and girls, first years to seventh years, staring at his soft features until he finally finds a compartment in the back that only has one kid sitting in it.

From the looks of it, the lad's a first year. He's got this crazy mop of brown curls and super bright green eyes and for once, Niall is the one caught speechless because he's sort of gorgeous. 

"Um, anyone sitting there?" Niall asks nervously. "Everywhere else is full."

He almost smacks himself after the words are out of his mouth and Merlin's beard, this kid better be a muggleborn because any kid who grew up in a wizarding household would know those are the exact words Ron Weasely said to Harry Potter the first time they met and Niall really doesn't want to seem like some prat who stays up all night reading books on the famous Boy Who Lived (it was just a phase, and seriously, who doesn’t go through a Harry Potter phase?).

The kid sort of stares at Niall for a second in surprise but then gives a huge smile that’s all bright white teeth and deep dimples and says, “No, go ahead.”

Niall smiles gratefully and takes a seat after stowing his trunk and owl away in the overhead compartment. “I’m Niall, by the way.”

“Harry,” the boy replies, taking Niall’s outstretched hand, and Niall can’t help but raise his eyebrows, “Harry Styles.”

“Styles? Muggleborn, eh?” Niall asks. His dad’s obsessed with wizarding genealogy - not in a pure-blood extremist way, but more in the geeky, need-to-know-everything way - and Niall’s never come across the surname before.

“Yeah! I was so excited to get my letter. Mum’s always told me I was a bit special, but I thought she was just saying that because she had to, you know, being my mum and all. But then this guy came to our door with the letter and explained how I was a wizard, and yeah, now I’m here,” Harry’s voice is slow and calming, but there’s this obvious excited tone behind it that’s hard not to notice. Niall feels like he could listen to it forever.

“You know, you’re sort of really pretty. Is this a wizarding thing? Are all wizards very attractive?” Harry asks with no shame whatsoever. 

Niall feels the heat rushing to his face. He knows he’s pretty, but it’s always so awkward to hear, especially from someone like Harry who seems to be absolutely beautiful.

“Um, no,” Niall says with a shy smile, “my gran’s a veela, so uh, guess I inherited some of her traits.”

“Oh, I read about veela’s in one of the books I got this summer,” Harry replies, his smile growing. He’s about to continue but he’s interrupted by the door of the compartment opening and a figure already clad in his Hogwarts robes rushing in and hiding behind Niall in his seat.

“Horan! I heard you were in here. Hide me. I’m in deep dragon’s dung. Put a dungbomb in Malik’s trunk. He’s not too pleased with me, I reckon.”

Niall catches sight of Harry’s confused expression and can’t help but burst into giggles. “Harry, this idiot is Louis Tomlinson. Our dads work together in the Ministry of Magic. Tommo, this is Harry Styles.”

Louis peeks out from behind Niall’s shoulder, his expression a bit more shy and subdued from before. Niall knows he’s always a bit awkward around new people, but it doesn’t take much for him to break out of his shell. “Oh, hello. Sorry we had to meet like this. But I’m a man on the run at the moment.”

The confusion in Harry’s face breaks and he bursts into this big booming laughter and Louis gives him a huge, pleased smile. Niall rolls his eyes as the compartment door opens again.

“Is Louis in here?” he asks before spotting where Louis’s not-so-discreetly hiding behind Niall. “Oh, there you are, Lou. Don’t worry, I talked to Zayn, he’s not gonna kill you. He’s still ticked off though. That wasn’t very nice of you.” 

There’s a frown plastered on his face which melts as soon as Louis leaps up and wraps his arms around him. “Oh gosh, thanks, Liam! You’re a life-saver. I thought I would have to go into hiding forever.”

“Whatever,” Liam says, detaching himself from Louis with a slight blush on his face. “How are you, Niall? How was your summer?”

Liam takes a seat next to Niall as Louis plops down next to Harry who’s inquiring him about what dungbombs are. 

“It was fine,” Niall replies politely, “and you?” 

Niall and Liam have met a few times. Liam’s mum works for the Ministry and his dad for St. Mungo’s so they’ve crossed paths before in the past. He’s nice enough, if not a bit quiet at times, but he’s always been more of Louis’s friend than Niall’s. 

“It was good. I spent some time with Lou’s family and then mum and dad took me and my sisters to vacation in France. All very pleasant.”

Niall’s about to inquire about France when the compartment opens yet again. Louis yelps as a boy with dark hair and a sour expression on his face walks in. There’s a faint whiff of dungbombs surrounding him.

“Hullo, Zayn. Look, I’m terribly sorry about the dungbombs, mate. Just a small little prank between pals, I hope all is forgiven.” Louis says, smiling tentatively. 

Zayn scowls and squeezes in next to Liam who automatically throws an arm around him in comfort. “I’m not talking to you, Tomlinson.”

Louis pouts and Liam rolls his eyes and Harry just looks at them all in amusement. 

“Vas happenin’, Horan? Haven’t seen you in a while,” Zayn turns to Niall, completely ignoring Louis’s growing pout and puppy dog eyes.

Niall tries to hide his smile at Louis’s obviously-desperate-for-attention expression. “Yeah, it’s been some time. I’ve been good. You met Harry?” 

“Nah, hey, mate. I’m Zayn.” 

Zayn’s smile is bright and pleasant and it’s like he wasn’t even mad just a second ago.

“Nice to meet you,” Harry says, returning the smile and shaking Zayn’s hand while ignoring the way Louis’s huffing beside him.

“ _Zayn_ ,” Louis whines, stretching out the vowel, “stop it. I said I was sorry. Listen, I’ll buy you anything you could possibly want from the trolley when it comes around. Talk to me.”

Zayn raises an eyebrow as Liam and Niall try to hide their giggles and Harry sits there confused but obviously amused. “Also throw in any Chocolate Frog cards you get, and we’ll call it even.”

Louis looks torn for a moment but finally bursts out with, “Fine. Fine. I’ll give you all the Chocolate Frog cards I get. Are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good, mate,” Zayn says with a huge smile and Louis sighs in relief.

“What are Chocolate Frogs?” Harry asks.

“You don’t know what they are?” Zayn replies, eyes wide in surprise. “What, you a muggleborn or something?”

Niall glares at Zayn as a slight pink tint appears in Harry’s cheeks. Zayn’s family comes from old blood. There aren’t many pureblood families left these days, and the Malik’s are one of the oldest. Niall likes Zayn well enough, he's a good guy, but sometimes those pureblood sentiments surface and Niall remembers that he comes from a long line of Slytherins known for acquiring the house’s traits just as much as the Malfoys.

“Yes, I am, actually. Is there a problem with that?” Harry says, defiantly, eyes narrowed slightly.

“No, no, definitely not. Just, surprised I guess. Um, my family’s pureblood so I don’t come across many muggleborns, I guess? Probably should get used to it though, since we’re starting at Hogwarts,” Zayn says, and Niall’s glad that he at least has the gall to be look a bit embarrassed.

Harry relaxes a little at Zayn’s reaction, but he’s still side-eyeing him a bit.

“Well, I’m a half-blood myself,” Louis says with a huge smile, trying to defuse the tension, “my mum’s a muggle. My sisters and I all grew up in Doncaster.”

“Me dad’s a muggleborn,” Niall adds, “so technically I’m a half-blood too.”

“I’m a pureblood,” Liam says, “but the name Payne is more or less synonymous with Weasley these days as far as blood status goes, so it’s really nothing to brag about.”

“Cool, so you guys must know all about Hogwarts then, right? I don’t know much, but I did do some reading after I got my letter. Do you know what houses you want to be in?” Harry asks, looking at them curiously.

“Slytherin,” Zayn says automatically with a proud smile. 

“Ew,” Louis replies, scrunching his nose, “why would you ever want to be in Slytherin? Gryffindor is the way to go, Malik.”

Liam rolls his eyes and reaches out to kick Louis lightly in the shin. “Shut up, Lou. Didn’t the Great Wizarding War teach you anything? There’s nothing wrong with being in Slytherin. I’d like to be in Hufflepuff myself though, honestly.”

“Hufflepuffs are worse than Slytherins,” Louis says, completely serious. He yelps when Liam kicks him again, a bit harder this time.

“‘Scuse me? Me parents were both Hufflepuffs, thank you very much,” Niall says, affronted.

“Your mum may be hot, Niall, but that doesn’t make her any less lame for being in Hufflepuff.”

Louis screams as Niall lunges at him playfully from across the compartment. They get into a tussle on the floor which ends when the trolley finally comes in and Zayn buys as much food as Louis’s wallet can possibly handle. 

They spend the rest of the ride to Hogwarts discussing the benefits of each house (they all agree Ravenclaws are nerds and Harry has to admit that Hufflepuffs do sound sort of lame, a statement that earns him an attack from Niall) and trying to decide where Harry would end up. They change quickly into their robes when it starts to get dark outside and when they get to the school, they ride up to the castle together, squeezing into the same small boat that goes across the lake. 

When they’re approaching the castle, the lights from the windows fall onto Harry’s amazed face and Niall’s breath catches just a bit. Harry’s absolutely glowing and Niall can’t stop the smile that spreads across his face when Harry looks at him in shock. The others are all looking at Niall, even Zayn who’s clutching onto Liam’s hand and trying to not get sick from the gentle rocking of the boat. From the way they’re staring, Niall guesses that the lighting is doing him justice as well, but he can’t imagine anyone looking as beautiful as Harry does at that moment. 

By the time they’re standing outside of the Great Hall, everyone’s too busy looking around them in wonder to pay any attention to Niall, which suits him quite fine to be honest. Harry’s eyes are so wide they look like they’re gonna pop out of his face, and he keeps grabbing Niall’s arm and pointing excitedly at everything. Niall would laugh, except he’s just as entranced by the castle. It’s nothing like Greg described it to be because it’s so much better.

The excited buzz surrounding the new first years falls silent as the door to the Great Hall opens and someone steps out to meet them. He’s obviously a professor, clad in black robes, pointed hat on his head. There’s a bit of dark brown hair poking out from underneath his hat and he’s got a round, friendly face that makes Niall feel a bit more relaxed despite his nerves and excitement.

“Welcome, first years! I’m Professor Longbottom, and I teach Herbology here at Hogwarts. In a few minutes you’ll walk through your doors where you will be sorted into your new house. As you probably know, there are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin,” Professor Longbottom introduces himself. 

He goes on to explain the house point system and the House Cup and all those things Niall already knows about. Niall’s nerves are flaring up again, and he knows he shouldn’t be nervous except he still is. Harry’s clutching onto him, palm warm against his arm, so he knows he’s not alone in his feelings. 

Professor Longbottom finishes his speech and gives them a huge smile and tells them to get into some sort of an organized line. Niall ends up sandwiched between Harry and Louis as they’re ushered inside the Great Hall. 

The Hall is beautiful with it’s floating candles and the perfect replica of the sky in the ceiling. Niall hears Harry gasp behind him and again he feels Harry’s grip on his arm. It’s a bit tight, but it’s also sort of a nice feeling, so Niall doesn’t shake him off.

Niall can feel people’s eyes being drawn to him as he makes his way to the front of the Hall. It’s mostly younger girls staring but he can tell that there are some younger boys and few older students as well. As much as Niall’s used to the looks he receives, they still bother him from time to time. It’d be nice to just go unnoticed for once.

Sorting seems to go by quickly after the Hat sings his song. Niall’s the first to go up out of the five of them and he’s not sitting there long before he’s put into Hufflepuff, just like his parents were. Zayn’s wish is fulfilled when he gets put into Slytherin, and Liam joins Niall at the Hufflepuff table. The hat takes a bit longer with Harry, and Niall’s a bit disappointed when he’s joining a loud and welcoming group of Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall. Louis’s also put into Gryffindor and he takes a seat next to Harry with a huge smile on his face. 

It’s a bit disappointing that they all got split up so early. Niall liked spending time with everyone on the train and he liked that they didn’t always stare at him or make him feel uncomfortable because of what he was, and he definitely liked Harry and his bright smiles and endless curiosity and beautiful green eyes. But things weren’t like they used to be. Niall knew from talking to Greg that inter-house mingling was easier than ever before, so maybe they could make this thing work, this friendship of theirs that was starting to form. Niall knows that he’s not ready to let it all go.


	2. Walk Around With My Heart On Your Sleeve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry’s cheeks and the tip of his nose are pink and rosy from the cold and his eyes are shining bright and Niall really sort of wants to lean over the table and kiss his wind-chapped lips. Instead he settles on throwing a huge smile Harry’s way and Harry smiles back so brightly that Niall’s wondering why the other people in the pub are staring at him and not at Harry. [Hogwarts AU]

One blustery day in October of their third year, a sign goes up on all the house notice boards announcing the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. Liam and Niall walk from their common room to the Great Hall, excitedly discussing what they’ll be doing that weekend on their trip to the village.

“Li, as long as we get to go to Honeydukes, I’m all set,” Niall says, taking a seat next to a second year girl with curly brown hair. He tries to ignore the way she’s gaping at him, a pink blush slowly spreading across her cheeks. Every year Niall draws more attention, and every year it seems to get under his skin more. He’s never been one to care what people think but there’s something about having eyes on him at all times that he can’t seem to get used to.

“We’ll go to Honeydukes, don’t worry,” Liam replies, rolling his eyes and sitting across from Niall, “but I think we should check some other stuff out too. The candy’s not going anywhere.”

“Nowhere but my belly,” Niall smiles, patting his flat stomach enthusiastically, already imagining it full of his favorite sweets.

“What’s going in Niall’s stomach? Other than everything on this table right now, of course,” Louis asks, taking a seat next to Liam. He’s followed by Harry who takes the open seat on the other side of Niall.

The other Hufflepuffs barely blink at the presence of the two Gryffindors at their table. Their first year of Hogwarts, Niall was pleasantly surprised to see that house divides were practically non-existent. There were still some who preferred to mingle mainly with their housemates, but there were no strange looks given when students decided to dine with their friends at other houses. Niall’s fear that their friendship would fail because they were put into different houses quickly diminished as they unintentionally set up this schedule where they ate breakfast together at the Hufflepuff table, lunch with the Slytherins, and dinner with the Gryffindors.

“We were discussing what we should do when we go to Hogsmeade this weekend,” Liam answers, slapping away Louis’s hand as he tries to grab a roll off of Liam’s plate. “There’s plenty of food here, Tommo, get your own.”

As Louis grumbles and fills up his own plate, Harry sighs and buries his face in the crook of Niall’s neck. Niall shuffles a little closer and ducks his head to hide the obviously pleased grin on his face. Harry’s always like this in the morning, tired and more cuddly than normal, his eyes drooping and his usual drawl so slow that sometimes it’s barely discernible. In general he chooses Niall as his pillow, claiming him to be the softest and most comfortable. Niall doesn’t mind - he’s always looking for excuses to be closer to Harry.

“We definitely have to go to Zonko’s,” Louis says, through a mouth full of buttered toast, “I hear it’s supposed to be totally wicked.”

“Louis, could you please swallow then talk,” Liam replies, scrunching his nose in disgust, but there’s the same endearing looking on his face that’s always there when he looks at Louis.

“Funny, that’s exactly what your mum said to me last night,” Louis says with a wink and a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

Niall bursts out laughing and he can feel Harry giggling next to him, breath coming out hot and soft on his neck. 

Liam’s blushing red as he shoves a cackling Louis and muttering, “Gross, that was totally unnecessary.”

“You guys are way too happy in the morning,” Zayn grumbles, sitting down as Louis and Niall calm down their laughter. His robes are disheveled, green and silver striped tie crooked, and black hair sticking up at odd angles. If anyone’s worse than Harry in the mornings, it’s Zayn.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who had a rough night,” Louis says lewdly, bursting into giggles again as Liam gives him another shove.

“Too early, Tomlinson,” Zayn groans, setting his head down on the table, “can I go back to bed?”

“Well, we have History of Magic next, so it’s basically the same thing,” Niall says grinning. He feels Harry giggling again on his shoulder and he can’t help the way his smile grows larger.

“Thank Merlin,” Zayn says, eyes closed and looking like he’s gonna go back to sleep any minute now.

“Anyway, Hogsmeade this weekend,” Liam says, trying to stop Louis who’s gotten a quill out of his bag to tickle Zayn’s nose and get a reaction out of him, “what are we doing? Zonko’s, Honeydukes, what else?”

“We’ll wing it, Li,” Niall answers, “it’s not a big life-changing trip or anything. We still have four more years of Hogsmeade visits to look forward to. There’s time to do everything.”

“Louis, I swear to God, if you don’t stop, I’m gonna take that quill and stick it--”

“Fine, we’ll wing it,” Liam sighs, interrupting Zayn and grabbing onto Louis’s hand and holding it to stop him from harassing Zayn.

“Excellent, now that that’s settled, I think it’s time to get to class,” Louis says, smile bright and blatantly ignoring the way Zayn’s glaring at him. He grabs his bag, one hand still in Liam’s and they walk off together, Zayn shuffling behind them slowly. 

Niall shakes awake Harry who’s dozing on his shoulder and smiles at him softly. Harry returns the smile, his own small, slow, and sleepy. It’s Niall’s favorite smile. 

“Time for class, Hazza.”

“Don’t wanna go,” Harry complains, “have Potions first. Dreadful class first thing in the morning.”

“Better than History of Magic. Come on, get your ass moving. Y'know Smith’s looking for any excuse to take a billion points from Gryffindor,” Niall says, shoving at Harry gently.

Harry groans but gets up, gathering his bag. “Walk me to class?”

Niall smiles, following his actions. “'Course, don’t I always?”

\--

The rest of the week passes by slowly with too much homework and too much Quidditch practice and not enough time to just hang out in the common rooms and relax. By the time him and Harry are done Divination, their last class on Friday, he’s so ready for a day out of the castle. 

The two of them are walking down the hall together, bumping shoulders and elbows as Harry pokes fun at Niall for the way Professor Trelawney had predicted he would have multiple, promiscuous relationships with gorgeous woman before settling down and having ten beautiful part-veela children, when Niall hears his name being called behind him. There’s a girl running towards them, a Gryffindor in their Divination class with long, shiny brown hair whose name Niall can never seem to remember.

“Niall, hi,” she says, breathless by the time she reaches the two of them.

“Erm, hullo, uh...” 

“Emily.”

“Right, uh, Emily. So, vas happenin’?” Harry snorts and Niall cringes because of course he would be the one to pick up Zayn’s stupid habit.

Emily ignores Harry - actually she doesn’t seem to notice him at all. Her bright blue eyes are fixated on Niall so intently that it’s starting to make him feel rather uncomfortable. “I was wondering, y’know, there’s a Hogsmeade visit this weekend, so would you maybe, like to go with me?”

Harry’s full out giggling at this point as a blush creeps up Niall’s neck and into his cheeks. Emily’s still staring at him - Harry’s laughter deaf to her ears and eyes wider than before - and it’s just making Niall blush harder.

“Oh,” Niall finally chokes out, “uh, I’m sorry, Emily. I already have plans for Hogsmeade. Maybe some other time?”

Disappointment washes over Emily and Niall can’t help but cringe at the way her eyes are filling up with tears. He absolutely hates confrontations like this and he really wished that they didn’t happen as often as they did.

“Oh, okay,” Emily whispers, and she rushes off, eyes glued to the floor.

“Way to let her down easy, Nialler,” Harry smirks, giggles finally calming down.

“That was so awkward,” Niall moans as they continue their way to the Great Hall, “why does this always happen to me?”

“Nobody can resist that undeniable, veela charm,” Harry says, slipping an arm around Niall’s waist. It makes Niall feel more comfortable and he can’t help but bury his face in Harry’s shoulder.

“I don’t want the veela charm anymore. You can have it,” he mumbles, causing Harry to bark out a laugh that Niall can tell, even without looking, that he instantly smothers with his hand. It’s an adorable laugh and it’s always been Niall’s favorite. There’s something about it that always makes Niall happy and he loves knowing that he’s the one that’s causing it. 

Niall lifts his face from Harry’s shoulder, but his arm still remains around Niall’s waist as they make their way down the corridor, debating on what would happen if Harry was the one in Niall’s position.

When they reach the Great Hall, Zayn, Liam, and Louis are already there, and to Niall’s horror, Emily is sitting a few seats away from them. Harry tries to choke back a laugh as the girl sitting next to Emily nudges her and Emily looks at them with wide eyes. Niall’s trying to avoid eye-contact but he still notices the way that Emily and her friend hastily get up and go to join a couple of other third years at the Ravenclaw table. 

“What was that about?” Louis asks as Niall and Harry take a seat at the table. 

“I hate my life.”

“Emily asked Niall to Hogsmeade after Divination just now,” Harry says, filling his plate as Niall tries to resist the urge to bang his head against the table.

“That’s what? Three girls now? And a guy?” Liam asks.

“Five girls,” Niall moans. “Why do these things happen to me?”

“Obviously because you’re gorgeous,” Zayn replies, shoving at Louis who’s falling over onto him in his laughter. “And that’s not weird, it’s actually fact. Even though you’re only what? A quarter veela? That makes you about four times as attractive than the normal witch, wizard, squib, or muggle.”

“Why can’t I just be average looking,” Niall sighs, finally fixing himself a plate and putting as much food on it as possible. If there was anything that would make him feel better, it was something to eat.

“Obviously because we wouldn’t hang out with you if you were,” Louis says seriously. “I don’t hang out with ugos. I only put up with Zayn because I feel like I have to.”

Louis squeals as Zayn shoves him again and Niall kicks him under the table. 

Even though Louis was obviously kidding, he did hit a nerve with Niall. Niall often wondered if his friends really liked him for him or if they were drawn to him because of his veela blood. There’s times he finds them looking at him the same way that Emily looked at him in the hallway and it’s then that he doubts that there’s anything more than physical attraction there. 

Liam’s assured him multiple times that that’s not the case - that sure, they all find Niall attractive, because how could they not, but none of them are _attracted_ to Niall. There’s one night that Liam even admits that they’re all a little bit in love with Niall but it’s only because there’s this light about Niall that has nothing to do with his veela blood. He’s warm and friendly and kind and gentle and, for lack of a better word, so _Hufflepuff_ that it’s hard not to love him. 

Niall had rolled his eyes at Liam’s sentimentality but still wrapped around him in a hug, thanking him. He didn’t understand how Liam could get away with saying cheesy stuff like that, but Niall was glad he did because they always made him feel less insecure of himself.

\--

The next morning, Liam wakes Niall up early for their usual weekend Quidditch practice. It’s long and grueling because they have a game coming up with Slytherin within the next week that might very well determine who gets the Quidditch Cup (or so their captain claims, but Niall knows it’s way too early in the season to tell). 

By the time it’s over, Niall is sore and wind-chapped and ready to have a lie-in but Liam drags him to the library where they meet Zayn, Louis, and Harry. Harry’s got his nose buried in a potions book, occasionally muttering something to himself and jotting things down on a piece of parchment, and Louis and Zayn are having a hushed argument over something Niall can’t really decipher.

They spend the rest of the morning doing homework. Niall helps Harry through his potions essay once he notices that Harry’s close to tears and Zayn looks over Louis and Liam’s Transfiguration essay with a furrowed brow and disappointed expression on his face.

(“Merlin, Liam, what is this?” Zayn mutters, crossing something out with his quill and rewriting it. 

“What?” Liam asks, mildly offended. “It’s not that bad is it?” 

“Seriously, I thought you were supposed to be the sensible one.”

“Sensible doesn’t necessarily mean smart,” Louis says with a smirk, but he grabs Liam’s hand and squeezes it comfortingly. The hurt on Liam’s face slides off and he continues to hold Louis’s hand as he flips through his Herbology book.

“Don’t get me started on your essay,” Zayn replies, crossing out another sentence. He jumps once he’s hit by a balled up piece of parchment Louis’s thrown at him.

Niall rolls his eyes and goes back to helping Harry through the end of his Potions essay. Harry’s really rubbish at the subject but Niall never minds helping him through it all.)

The moment when Liam declares that they should start getting ready to go to Hogsmeade is one of the most beautiful in Niall’s life. He closes his Defense Against the Dark Arts book with a bit more force than necessary and practically drags Liam back to the Hufflepuff common room.

Niall dresses warm and Liam dresses even warmer. They’re all bundled up in woolen jumpers and yellow and black Hufflepuff scarves to protect them from the autumn wind when they meet Louis, Zayn, and Harry in the entrance hall. The three of them are dressed similarly and they all have huge grins on their face mirroring Niall’s. 

Old Filch checks off their names on the list of students allowed to go into the village, eyeing Louis suspiciously and warning him not to bring any banned items back into the castle. Louis looks at him with wide, innocent eyes that fool no one and promises that he would never do such a thing. 

The village is beautiful and Niall’s already thinking about what it’ll look like in the winter when the roofs are covered in white, fluffy snow. They hit a few shops, Zonko’s and the recently opened branch of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes and Honeydukes. Louis and Zayn fill their pockets with items Niall knows are banned while Liam watches them with a frown on his face. Niall finds his supply of gold lessen considerably after buying enough candy to last a month (Louis jokes that it won’t last him more than a week). 

The weather gets more chilly as the day wears on and Niall’s not exactly sure when Harry had grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers but he’s glad he did because it both warms his cold skin and spreads a calming heat through his insides. They stroll through the streets of the village, swinging their arms between them and falling behind the other three. 

Up ahead, Liam’s easily carrying Louis on his back and Zayn is walking in pace next to them, sticking his tongue out at Louis who’s smirking cheekily. Liam’s giggling, eyes crinkling at their sides, and Louis holds on tighter as Liam’s body shakes with his laughter. 

Niall’s chest tightens a little watching them and he feels so undeniably _happy_. Liam says that they’re all a little bit in love with him, and well, Niall’s a little bit in love with all of them too. He’s so lucky to have found friends like them and he can’t imagine what he would’ve done the past three years without them.

Slowly, Niall stops the motion of his and Harry’s arms and instead just moves closer to him. Harry smiles down at him and detaches his hand in order to move his arm around Niall’s waist. Niall loves the way they seem to fit together so perfectly, like they’re meant to hold each other like they are at that very moment. 

“Oi! It’s getting a bit chilly out here. I reckon it’s time to take a stop in the Three Broomsticks.”

Sidled up to Harry, sharing his body heat, Niall really doesn’t feel very cold anymore, but he nods at Louis who’s back on the ground, now arm in arm with Liam instead of on his back. The five of them walk into the pub just as a big gust of wind blows behind them. Zayn, Harry, and Niall find them a table and Liam and Louis go to get them drinks. 

Niall settles down at the table, unwrapping his scarf from around his neck and watching Harry and Zayn do the same. Harry’s cheeks and the tip of his nose are pink and rosy from the cold and his eyes are shining bright and Niall really sort of wants to lean over the table and kiss his wind-chapped lips. Instead he settles on throwing a huge smile Harry’s way. Harry’s eyes get sort of wide and he blinks them slowly like he’s taken aback by Niall before he shakes his head slightly and smiles back so brightly that Niall’s wondering why the other people in the pub are staring at him and not at Harry. 

“Cough up the galleons, boys,” Louis says, approaching the table with two flagons of butterbeer in his hands, “I’m not made of money.” 

Liam sets down three more as Niall rolls his eyes and pulls out enough gold to cover his drink from his pocket. Niall takes a sip of the butterbeer Zayn passes him and it’s sweet and warm and absolutely heavenly. 

They spend the rest of the day in the tavern, joking and gossipping and watching Harry try to charm the curvy bartender into giving them free snacks. When the sun starts sinking behind the mountains, they set off towards the castle, smiles on their faces and butterbeer warm in their bellies. It’s one of the best days Niall’s ever had in his life.


	3. Young Enough, Dumb Enough, Not To Think Twice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry’s eyes are shining bright and his face is flushed and his curls are little bit frazzled. The smile on his face is dopey and lazy and utterly adorable and Niall really wants to kiss him right now. [Hogwarts AU]

In the future, when he looks back at things, Niall will realize that whenever the word “party” comes out of Louis Tomlinson’s mouth, things are bound to end in disaster. But of course, sometimes things end up working for the better.

Fifth year is a blur of homework and studying and seemingly endless preparations for the O.W.L’s. By the time February rolls around, Niall is so done with everything and he wishes that exam time was over with so he could get on with his life. He’s tired of sitting in the library, hunched over textbooks, trying to absorb five years of information that he seemed to have missed. 

So one night, a couple weeks before Valentine’s Day, when Louis slams down his Transfiguration book in frustration and declares that they all need a break, Niall can’t help but agree. 

They’re in the Hufflepuff common room, invading the area by the fire. Books and scraps of parchment and broken quills litter the table where Zayn is trying to help Liam through a brutal History of Magic essay. Liam’s leaning against Louis who’s sitting in Niall’s favorite chair, flipping through his textbook with one hand and running his fingers comfortingly through Liam’s hair with the other. 

(And they’re together now - officially. Zayn had the misfortune of being the one to discover the two of them together for the first time. Him and his girlfriend Perrie - a Ravenclaw with blonde hair and blue eyes that could easily rival Niall’s - had stumbled upon them in the library while on the quest to find a quiet corner to snog in.

When he turned the corner, Zayn hadn’t been expecting to find Liam trapped between a bookcase and Louis’s body, but that’s exactly what he saw. Him and Perrie had stood there in shock until Louis’s hand started trailing lower down Liam’s abdomen and dangerously close to the waistband of his trousers.

“Are you quite finished?” Zayn interrupted, voice a perfect imitation of Louis’s. 

Liam and Louis both jumped, and from Liam’s wince, Zayn was convinced that Louis had bitten down on his tongue in surprise. 

“Uh, Zayn,” Liam stammered, blushing red while he straightened out the upturned collar of his shirt and his yellow and black Hufflepuff tie, “um, I can explain.”

“Explain what exactly? Why it took you two prats so long to get together?” Zayn asked as Perrie giggled into his shoulder.

Liam’s blush deepened as Louis replied with a smirk, “Shove off, Malik. Now if you don’t mind, we weren’t quite finished.”

Louis turned pointedly back to the still red Liam as Zayn rolled his eyes and grabbed Perrie’s hand. The two of them rushed off before they saw any more of Liam and Louis than they wanted to and immediately went to find Harry and Niall.)

Niall's desperately trying to help Harry with a Potions assignment. Five years and Harry is just as pathetically bad at the subject as when he started it. They're spread out on the floor, surrounded by different diagrams and books and scraps of parchment. Harry's shoulder is pressing against Niall's, warm and comforting, and the touch is sending small yet familiar butterflies through his stomach. 

Harry frowns in frustration, brows furrowed adorably, as Niall tries to explain the different effects that come from stirring the potion clockwise and stirring it counterclockwise for what seems like the hundredth time that night. 

"Why does it matter?" Harry groans, rolling over onto his back and placing a hand over his eyes. "Why does this have to be so hard. Why can't I just stir the stupid potion however I want?"

Niall sighs, ever patient with Harry's complaints, but before he can reply, he hears the loud thud of a book hitting the ground. He turns toward Louis just to see Liam jump in surprise and overturn a bottle of ink onto his nearly finished essay.

“What the hell, Lou,” Liam moans, looking at his essay in distress. His cheeks are slowly turning pink and Niall wouldn’t be too surprised if he burst into angry tears.

“It’s okay,” Zayn says soothingly, gently prying the parchment from Liam’s shaking hands and siphoning away the extra ink with a wave of his wand. Liam relaxes and the color in his cheeks starts to dissipate. “But really, Lou, what the hell just happened?”

“I don’t know,” Louis complains, moving down to the floor and leaning against the armchair and Liam immediately moves back to fit between Louis’s open legs and leans against his chest like he wasn’t even mad just a second ago. Louis wraps his arms around Liam’s waist and buries his face in the crook of his neck. “I just, ugh. I’m so done with studying and books and tests and essays and just, _everything_. We need a break, like a proper break, not a sneak-off-into-the-kitchens-to-grab-some-chips-and-then-get-back-to-work break.”

“I agree,” Harry replies, still in the same position he rolled into from frustration. 

Even Zayn and Liam, who are usually the most studious out of the five of them, are nodding in agreement. They both look exhausted, dark circles forming under their eyes, and sometimes Niall forgets that on top of their school work, both of them have Prefect duties and Liam has Quidditch and Zayn has meetings with the bajillion clubs he’s part of. The only other thing Niall has is Quidditch and that alone is killing him so he can’t imagine how the other two handle everything.

“So, what do you propose we do, Tommo?” Niall asks, propping himself onto his elbows.

Louis smiles widely and there’s a mischievous glint in his blue eyes which could only mean trouble. “I was thinking we throw a party.”

Zayn raises an eyebrow skeptically and Liam twists around awkwardly in Louis’s arms to frown in disapproval but it’s obvious that Louis has Harry’s attention and even Niall’s a bit intrigued with the idea. They hadn’t a party since last Easter Break when Louis had a thrown “a small get together” at his place while his parents were out of town. The night is still a bit fuzzy in Niall’s head and all he remembers is Ministry officials apparating to the scene in a frenzy when the festivities caught the attention of Louis’s muggle neighbors and there’d been a near breach of the International Statute of Secrecy. Safe to say it wasn’t one of their most glorious moments.

“Louis, do you really think that’s such a great idea?” Liam asks hesitantly.

“It won’t be like last time,” Louis replies, rolling his eyes. “No muggles around this time. We’ll do it in school and keep it small. Just us and a few of our closest friends.”

“What friends? Do we have other friends?” Zayn asks with a frown.

“Well, you might not, Merlin knows why anyone would want to be your friend, Malik.”

Harry yelps with a giggle and rolls closer to Niall in attempt to get away from the balled up piece of parchment Zayn throws at him.

“Ugh, what happened to you, Haz. You used to be so sweet and innocent. I reckon Lou’s corrupted you.”

“As I was _saying_ ,” Louis says before Harry can retort, “we can invite a few of our closest friends that, yes, we do indeed have, Zayn. I was thinking Ed and Josh and maybe that Slytherin bloke Harry’s so fond of, Nick or whatever. And you can bring Perrie, of course, and any of her lovely lady friends. Other than that just a few birds and blokes from our respective Quidditch teams and I think we’re set.”

“I guess that doesn’t sound too bad,” Liam says slowly, but he still seems a bit wary of the idea.

“Excellent,” Louis exclaims, squeezing Liam around the middle in excitement. “Looks like we have a party to plan then, lads!”

\--

They decide on Valentine’s Day for the party because it’s a Saturday and there’s a Hogsmeade visit and the teachers will probably have their guard down thinking that most of the older students are out enjoying their day off in the village. The people they invite to the party are totally down with the idea, the older students agreeing that a day of fun is long overdue. 

For the most part, all of them try to keep it on the downlow because they really don’t want to get in trouble and most of them really can’t afford to at this point. The guest list extends to about twenty people and Niall’s pretty sure that that’s more than enough to keep them entertained for a night. 

Nick suggest to them that they have the party in the Room of Requirements and they all agree it’s a great idea. 

(Nick’s a seventh year Slytherin. He’s tall and lanky with bright eyes and a quiff to rival Zayn’s. Harry met him while doing detention with Old Filch and the two hit it off instantly. Nick’s funny and quick-witted and a bit arrogant at times but he’s fit and Harry has this tendency to look at him like the sun shines out of his skinny arse. Niall sort of hates him sometimes.)

Februrary 14th, after dinner, Niall, Louis, Zayn, Harry, and Liam head to the seventh floor and pace in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy three times and then enter through the door that magically appears in front of them.

The Room’s transformed itself to be spacious and airy. There’s a couple of chairs and couches as well as a long table perfect for drinks and snacks. There’s more than enough room for their small party.

Niall and Harry sneak off to the kitchen via a corridor that appears after Louis complains that there’s no food in the room. 

(“The Room can’t make food,” Zayn says, rolling his eyes at Louis’s grumbling.

“And why not? It’s magic isn’t it?”

“One of five Principle Exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Can’t make food appear out of thin air.”

Louis looks at Zayn like he’s growing a second head. “Bloody hell, Zayn, tell me again why you’re not in Ravenclaw with your girlfriend?”

Zayn shrugs and replies, “The Hat was considering it but I told it I wanted to be in Slytherin so that’s where I was put.”

“Why the hell would anyone _choose_ to be in Slytherin?”

Zayn responds by tweaking one of Louis’s nipples.)

The two of them come back, their arms full of Firewhiskey and Butterbeer and various snacks. Several excited house elves follow behind them, bringing more food on silver platters. 

“Well then,” Louis says after the last of the food has been put out, “let’s get this party started, eh?”

Niall grins widely at him, grabbing two bottles of Firewhiskey - one for himself and one that he passes to Harry who’s smiling so bright it almost hurts to look at him.

They drink while waiting for their friends to arrive, the hot beverage burning down their throats before coming to settle in their stomachs. Niall feels warm and buzzed and more relaxed than he’s felt in ages. 

The room fills up slowly. Ed’s the first to arrive. He’s a Gryffindor with crazy ginger hair which he insists does not come with an immediate connection to the Weasley family (Louis still doesn’t fully believe him). Next it’s Josh, one of the Chasers on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team who’s always sort of had heart eyes for Niall. After that the stream of people coming in is more steady and the room fills up quickly, the chatter of voices filling the air. 

The thing is though, the people don’t really stop coming. Soon the Room starts growing to accommodate the ever-growing crowd and the whole atmosphere begins to change. The lights dim and music starts blaring from some unseen source. The couches are moved against the walls and students congregate to the middle and start dancing to whatever song is playing at the moment. 

So much for keeping things low-key.

Niall’s not that concerned, he loves parties and he had a feeling this would happen. He downs bottles of Firewhiskey and shots of other drinks he doesn’t know the name of. They all taste terrible but they leave him feeling loose and free and relaxed. Harry’s right by his side the whole time, drinking and laughing and looking like he’s having the time of his life. 

The two of them make their way through the crowd of people on the makeshift dance floor and over to where Liam and Louis are standing to the side. Louis is flushed, his eyes bright with excitement and the drinks he’s already consumed. Liam does not look as pleased.

“Louis, you said this wouldn’t happen,” Liam complains, raising his voice to be heard over the pounding bass of the music. His brows are furrowed and the corners of his mouth are turned in a frown. 

“Oh come on, Li, this isn’t my fault. I swear I only told the people we decided to invite. Word must’ve just gotten out. But it’s happening now and nothing we can’t do anything about it.”

“Lighten up Liam,” Niall smiles, slinging an arm over his shoulder, “have a Firewhiskey and relax. Louis’s right. Nothing we can do about this now. Might as well enjoy the party.” 

The tension in Liam’s shoulders relaxes a little and he sighs. “Ugh, fine, yeah. But if we get caught, I’m throwing you all under the bus.” 

“Excellent!” Louis crows. “Now let’s get dancing.”

Louis grabs Liam’s hand and drags him into the crowd before he can protest. As Niall watches them disappear into the mass bodies, Harry presses in close behind him, long arms wrapping around his waist and chin hooking over his shoulder. 

“How about we go dance too,” Harry whispers into his ear and Niall tries to hold back a shudder. The alcohol running through his blood isn’t enough to relax his stuttering heart and the butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

“Yeah,” Niall agrees and feels Harry grab his hand and drag him to the dance floor. 

The music is some muggle pop song that Niall doesn’t recognize but it’s fast-paced and with lots of bass and perfect for dancing. Neither Niall nor Harry are very coordinated, but it’s okay. They’re both this side of tipsy and the drinks they consumed earlier make it easier to just move and have fun and lose themselves. 

Harry looks brilliant under the dim lights of the party. His green eyes are shining so bright that Niall has a hard time looking away from them and his cheeks are flushed with heat and excitement and alcohol. 

There are people pressing in close to them from all sides and some them are trying to get Niall’s attention in order to get him to dance with them. For the most part though all they’re really doing is pressing him closer to Harry and Niall honestly doesn’t mind that at all. 

Harry places one of his big hands on Niall’s hips and shakes his ridiculously to the beat of the music. A loud laugh escapes Niall’s mouth, catching the attention of some of the dancing students around them, and Harry smiles wide in return, cheeks dimpling deeply. Niall can’t think of anything he’d rather be doing at that moment. 

\--

As the night wears on, Niall loses Harry somewhere in the never-ending crowd of students but he’s drunk enough that he’s okay with dancing with anyone. And there’s definitely not a shortage of people to dance with. People seem to gravitate towards Niall, pulled in by the way he moves and laughs and his bright eyes and flushed skin. 

After downing a few more shots and at least another bottle of Firewhiskey, Niall is thoroughly pissed. He’s grinding up on Josh, sweat glistening on both of their bodies. Niall’s having fun, but he can’t help but wonder where Harry had disappeared to. 

“I’m gonna go get a drink, want anything?” Niall shouts over the changing music. Josh shakes his head no and goes off to find someone else to dance with.

Niall stumbles through the crowd of students. The dance floor isn’t as crowded as it was even half an hour ago and there are a lot of people sitting around on the couches or even just on the ground. Niall can’t help but snort as he passes by Liam who’s got Louis pinned against a wall, leaving bright red marks on his neck that are visible even in the dim lighting.

Everything’s starting to go a bit fuzzy and Niall decides against the drink he told Josh he was going to get. Instead he walks around a bit longer, until finally finding Harry snuggled up on one of the couches with Nick. Drunk Harry’s a bit like sleepy Harry in that he’s a lot more cuddly and handsy than usual. He’s got an arm thrown across Nick’s waist and his head on Nick’s shoulder. Nick’s got an arm wrapped around Harry’s shoulder and his head is bent, whispering something into Harry’s ear causing him to burst into a fit of giggles. 

Niall feels something bubbling in the pit of his stomach and he’s pretty sure it has nothing to do with all the alcohol he’s consumed that night. The jealousy spreads through him fast and hot, and it reaches everywhere from the tip of his toes to the top of his head.

Pushing through a small group of Ravenclaw girls who are standing around in his way, Niall makes his way over to Harry. 

“Hazza,” he calls, dropping straight into Harry’s lap without warning. Nick looks a bit ticked off at the interruption but Harry is absolutely beaming at him in a way that makes Niall's heart beat faster. 

"Hi, Niall," Harry smiles, arm leaving Nick and wrapping around Niall instead. "Where've you been?"

"Oh, just dancin', y'know. Missed you though so I decided to come looking for you." 

Nick's definitely glaring at the two of them now, especially when Niall shifts to make himself more comfortable in Harry's lap and Harry's grip tightens around him. Harry's paying no attention to Nick's sharp looks though and his eyes are trained wholly on Niall. 

“Good thing you found me then,” Harry says with a smile. “I was starting to miss you too.”

Harry’s eyes are shining bright and his face is flushed and his curls are little bit frazzled. The smile on his face is dopey and lazy and utterly adorable and Niall really wants to kiss him right now. He starts leaning his head forward a little, closer to Harry’s, but before anything can happen someone clears their throat loudly and Niall’s reminded that Nick’s still sitting there beside them.

“Grimmy!” Harry exclaims in surprise, and it’s obvious that Niall’s not the only one that forgot that they weren’t alone. “Uh, you’ve met Niall before right?”

Niall gives him a bright smile that’s all teeth and sparkling blue eyes and Nick’s sort of taken aback. He stares at Niall a second, mouth open and eyes wide, before clearing his throat again. “Yeah, er, I’m pretty sure we’ve met.”

Niall’s not a fan of using his beauty but it’s such a great way to catch people by surprise and sometimes he just can’t help himself. 

Nick’s still staring at him and Niall regrets the smile he gave him because it’s starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. Niall raises his eyebrow and gives Nick a look that obviously reads “can we be left alone?” and Nick shakes his head as if clearing his mind.

“Um, I’m just gonna go find Greg or Finchy. You two kids have fun,” Nick says, pulling on one of Harry’s curls affectionately and walking off a bit dazed and confused.

Harry watches Nick walk off a bit fondly but his attention shifts when Niall moves off his lap into the spot Nick just vacated and cuddles into Harry’s side. One of Harry’s arms is still around him and Niall feels warm and safe and comfortable.

The alcohol is starting to set in just right and suddenly Niall feels really tired. He hides a yawn into Harry’s shoulder and his eyes are beginning to droop a bit. Harry’s more or less in the same state and Niall really wouldn’t mind going to sleep right then, half lying on Harry as he runs his long fingers through Niall’s hair.

Niall lifts his head slightly and Harry’s eyes are big and bright and his lips are impossibly close to Niall’s own. Niall runs his tongue over his lips, suddenly a bit nervous. His heart is beating fast and the butterflies in his stomach are going crazy. 

He’s not positive, but Niall’s pretty sure Harry’s face is moving closer to his and then one of Harry’s hands are coming to touch his face and suddenly their lips are touching too. The kiss is soft and lazy and warm and a little bit wet. Harry sighs against his lips as Niall moves a hand into his curls and they both part only when they’re starting to get out of breath.

Harry’s absolutely beaming at him and he looks so beautiful that Niall’s breath catches in his throat. It dawns on him that Harry just kissed him and his insides burst with happiness and Niall can’t help but giggle and lean back into Harry so their lips are moving together again.

It’s a bit different this time, the kiss is deep and passionate and Harry’s pressing on the small of Niall’s back, pushing them closer together. It’s everything Niall’s ever imagined kissing Harry would be like and the pleasant buzz he’s feeling is more because of Harry’s skin against his than because of the Firewhiskey. 

Harry pulls away first and he starts laughing happily into the crook of Niall’s neck. Niall can’t contain the laughter that escapes his own mouth and they just sit there, happy and giggly for a few seconds. Nothing feels different because Niall’s always known that he’s had these feelings for Harry, yet everything feels different because it’s so glorious knowing that those feelings are returned.

“Niall,” Harry says after calming down, his voice low and a bit husky.

Niall replies with something intelligent like, “Huh?”, but before he can expand that thought, Zayn and Perrie are bursting through the doors of the Room of Requirement, both looking a bit flushed and disheveled. Niall doesn’t even remember either of them leaving the party.

Zayn rushes past the two of them on the couch and goes straight to Louis who’s sitting by the drinks, Liam curled up in his lap. He whispers something in Louis’s ear and Niall watches his eyes go wide and he can’t hear the swear slipping from his mouth but it’s not hard to tell what Louis’s saying. 

They exchange a few more words and then the music stops without warning. The few people left on the dancefloor groan and start to complain.

“Ladies, gentlemen, Slytherins,” Louis starts, ignoring the swipe from Zayn, “it seems that time has slipped by us and some of the heads of houses have noticed that there are quite a few students out of bed past curfew. Looks like this party must come to an end and I suggest that you book it to your dormitories like _now_.”

Panic sweeps through the students in the room and a few people are imitating Louis’s previous curses. Drunkenly swaying girls and boys are stumbling out the door, some supporting friends who had already passed out for the night. Harry, Niall, Louis, Liam, and Zayn stay behind, making sure that everyone makes it out of the room and once the last pair of frazzled Gryffindors stumble out they look around them. The Room’s in total disarray, cups and drinks and various other trash lying around everywhere.

“Well, let’s hope the Room will clean itself up,” Liam says worriedly. 

“I’m sure it will. We should try to get out of here.” 

Nobody argues with Louis and they all exit quickly. Before they can really go anywhere though, they hear footsteps coming around the corner.

“Shit,” Louis mutters, “come on this way.”

They go down the opposite side of the corridor and through a secret passage that Niall hadn’t known existed. They somehow end up back near the Great Hall and all separate to go their respective dormitories. Harry gives Niall a quick kiss that leaves him sort of breathless before they’re being pulled away by Louis and Liam.

“What was that about then?” Liam asks as they’re sneaking down the corridor past the kitchens and to the Hufflepuff common room.

Niall’s a bit more drunk than he originally thought and he’s clinging on to Liam because he can’t seem to stand up on his own for too long. “What was what about?”

“You. Harry. The kissing? Are you two official then?”

“Oh, I don’t know. That just sort of happened. Can we talk about this tomorrow, I think I might throw up.” All the walking and running they’ve been doing through the castle has upset the contents of Niall’s stomach and he’s really not feeling too well at the moment.

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Liam taps the on the stacks of barrels in front of the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. They move aside but before him and Niall can crawl through the passage a voice is ringing down the corridor.

“Ah, Mr. Horan. Mr. Payne. What a surprise to find you out of bed so late past curfew. Why don’t you come join me and Mr. Malik down in my office?”

“Shit,” Liam groans. Professor Smith, the potions master, is standing at the end of the hall, staring at the two of them rather smugly. 

They follow their least favorite professor to his room, Liam muttering under his breath about he’s going to kill Louis and Niall leaning on his housemate trying not throw up or pass out. 

\--

Turns out Smith had found Zayn in the same position as Niall and Liam - just about to enter his common room. He wasn’t buying Zayn’s story of sleepwalking, especially not when half of his clothes were inside out and he reeked of Firewhiskey and an assortment of other alcoholic drinks.

Louis and Harry had gotten caught when Harry’s leg got stuck in the trick step up the staircase to the Gryffindor common room. Luckily they were found by Professor Longbottom, who in addition to being their head of house, caused quite the bit of trouble back in his days (or so he says) and went easy on them even though it was obvious that the flush in their cheeks and the brightness of their eyes were not from shame.

Everybody else had gotten back to their dormitories in time, so at least there was that.

They all got a month’s worth of detention. Professor Longbottom pulled some strings and got them all working with Hagrid by the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a task none of them minded at all. Sometimes Harry and Niall would sneak off while the others were working and kiss behind large trees covered in fluffy white snow. 

Things didn’t change all that much. There was more kissing than before and more teasing from the boys and jealous stares in the hallway from boys and girls who had become increasingly infatuated with Niall over the years. Other than that they still held hands and cuddled and spent time with each other and with their friends and everything was just perfect. 

Niall was afraid that maybe Harry wouldn’t remember what happened when they woke up the morning after the party. but the transition from friends to something more came quickly and easily. Niall’s pretty sure it’s because that’s the way it was always meant to be.


End file.
